Words Never Said
by littlespider
Summary: Adam Ruzek is a serious talker. So when tragedy strikes, Olinsky is surprised by the few words his partner never said. An alternate ending to the finale "A Beautiful Friendship."


I've been obsessed with Chicago P.D. lately. As in, watched the entire season in a four days obsessed. And Ruzek is, of course, my favorite. So here's a little alternate ending to the season finale, "A Beautiful Friendship."

Disclaimer: Chicago P.D. and it's characters/plotlines belong to Dick Wolf and others. I'm simply borrowing them for a little torture, erm, fun.

* * *

Adam Ruzek shuffled past the warehouse, pleased that Voight had asked him to do the walk by. Maybe he'd finally started to prove himself. He'd been really trying lately to shed the cockiness that came from being handpicked from the Academy and to focus more on the job at hand. He was trying to think to take the time to think things through, to do them right rather than quickly. Ruzek had half expected Olinsky to shoot down Voight's suggestion – or at least to insist on being there to cover Ruzek's back – but the older man had become strangely distant lately. Add to this the fact that he was stuck babysitting Atwater, and Adam was given another chance to step up.

He shivered slightly in the cold air, his booted feet crunching through a thin layer of snow. Glancing quickly at the warehouse, taking in as much as possible without appearing to look, Ruzek spoke into the cellphone pressed up against his ear. "It's pretty secure, metal doors and boards on the windows. Pretty usual."

A light grey van pulled in front of him, and Adam made direct eye contact with the driver. He tried to look away, told himself that any normal person walking in this neighborhood would instinctually keep their eyes averted to avoid drawing attention to themselves. But all those Academy classes on intimidation tactics made that impossible, and Ruzek held the man's gaze until the van disappeared into the warehouse.

He felt his heartbeat speed up and forced himself to maintain a casual walking pace. "This is definitely the place. Some guy just pulled up in a van and put eyes on me."

"Did he make you as police?" Voight's gravelly voice came across the line.

"I can't tell," Ruzek answered honestly, briefly glancing behind him as he crossed the street.

"Alright, well, keep eyes on him."

Ruzek was about to answer an affirmative when a sudden cracking sound split the air and sharp pain exploded in his left knee. The leg gave way underneath him and he fell hard, hitting the cold street with a cry of agony. He could just hear Voight yelling from the phone still clasped in his hand over the loud rushing in his ears.

"I've been made, I've been – shit!"

Gunfire erupted again, striking the ground around him and making more pain erupt in his side. Fighting the urge to curl in on himself to ride out the pain, Adam forced himself into a painful army crawl, dragging himself and his now useless left leg behind the nearest vehicle. Tucking himself against the wheel, Adam leaned heavily against the back door, shaking in agony.

"Ruzek! Damn it, Adam, respond!"

"Ah," Adam managed to rasp out, his breath coming in short gasps. "I'm hit… still taking heavy fire… S'coming from the s-second story. N-no visual."

"Alright kid, stay on the line. We're ten seconds out."

Olinsky's soft voice now came over the comm. "Ruzek, how bad is it?"

Adam looked down at the dark blood already pooling on the ground under his leg and pressed a hand to the growing stain of red at his side in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. His back arched slightly against the fresh wave of pain, his stomach churned uneasily, and grey spots danced across his vision.

Olinsky now sounded more urgent. "Ruzek?"

* * *

Adam Ruzek was a serious talker. He was always offering up random facts and stories, always ready to jump in with a clever quip. So when Olinsky didn't receive any response from his younger partner, he felt the first flicker of real panic in his stomach. He tried again.

"Ruzek?"

No response.

Beside him, Atwater was negotiating traffic expertly, pushing their standard issue vehicle to get them to the scene faster. By the time they arrived, Voight was already in the thick of it, his SUV parked hap hazardously between the warehouse and a shot-up silver sedan. Climbing swiftly out of their car, Olinsky could see Ruzek's still form slumped against the far side of the battered vehicle.

Voight's already rough voice sounded more strained than usual as he crouched in the street behind his SUV, yelling into his cellphone. "This is the Intelligence Unit from District 21 requesting immediate backup and a bus. Taking heavy fire, one officer down. Repeat, officer down with multiple gunshot wounds."

Atwater and Olinsky exchanged a concerned glance. The taller man lifted his gun confidently. "Go get him. I'll cover you."

Atwater turned to engage the shooter, laying down cover fire, and Olinsky darted out from behind their vehicle. He slid to a stop next to the unresponsive Ruzek, and the knees of his pants were immediately saturated with dark red blood.

"Ruzek." Olinsky slapped the younger man's face lightly. "Adam, stay with me buddy."

Ruzek blinked disorientedly at him. "Al?"

"Hang in there kid, there's a bus on the way." Olinsky moved quickly, examining the younger man. He was relieved to see that Ruzek had at least had the sense to put pressure on his torso wound, whether it was completely effective or not. Besides, the leg wound was a bigger concern, leaking bright red blood from two different wounds.

"Shit man, I think you hit an artery," Olinsky stated, hurriedly removing his own belt. "This might hurt a bit."

Slipping the leather around Ruzek's upper thigh, Olinsky synched it as tight as he could to create a makeshift tourniquet until the paramedics arrived. He was expecting the action to illicit a pained response from the rookie, but Ruzek only shuddered slightly, looking out at him from dull eyes. Reaching up to unwind his scarf from his neck, Olinsky willed the paramedics to drive faster. Adam has already lost too much blood; shock was setting in.

"Adam, you with me?" Olinsky asked sharply, folding his scarf messily and pressing it against the shattered knee to stem more of the blood flow. He then ripped his hat off his head and pressed it to the wound in Ruzek's side. "Adam?"

Ruzek stiffened against the increased pressure on his side, and sucked in a harsh breath. "You never… call me Adam."

There was that infernally poorly timed sense of humor. Olinsky quirked a corner of his mouth in a small smile. "Special occasions only."

Adam tried to give a laugh that turned into more of a groan. "Let's not make this one a tradition."

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Currently working on a second chapter. Reviews always appreciated!


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